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July 20, 2009
Salem state college neighborhood
advisory committee
July 20, 2009 – Minutes
Attendees:Beth Bower, Jack Hoar, Adria Leach, Joseph O’Keefe, Andrew Soll, Jason Silva, Matt Veno, and John Walsh

Absent:         Fran Carson, Marcia Lambert, Robert McCarthy, and James Rose

Other:          Stan Cahill, Leif Lamoray, Dana Lothrop, Tim Shea, and Gayle Sullivan

RESIDENCE HALL UPDATE
  • Construction Update (provided by Leif Lamoray, Leftfield Inc. Project Manager):
  • Construction is on schedule
  • Concrete placements
  • The second slab is poured.
  • By the end of the week, 3 slab placements should be complete.
  • Upcoming work
  • Parking spaces will be reinstalled behind the residence hall.
  • Layout of exterior framing has begun; install to start later this week.
  • Masonry will begin mid-August.
  • Electrical and telephone underground installation are in process.
  • Electrical Work
  • Pole 14 on the neighborhood side of the bike path will serve as the source of electricity for the new residence hall. Walsh Brothers Inc. is coordinating with National Grid to connect this source to the new residence hall.
  • Temporary power plan (Scheduled to take place in the next couple of weeks at the discretion of National Grid): National Grid will install a pole on the college side of the bike path and connect the electrical line overhead to serve as the source until a trenching plan can be put in place. During the overhead work, a portion of the bike path will be temporarily closed. A campus police detail will be present during this work.
  • Installation of permanent power (scheduled to take place mid-August): The permanent electrical connection will run underground through a conduit from pole 14 on the neighborhood side of the bike path to a transformer located near the residence hall. The electrical line will connect directly to the transformer by running under the bike path and the service road on the college campus. This work will require approximately 30 feet of the bike path to be excavated. A trench will be excavated across the bike path and will be kept as narrow as possible. The trench will be open for 3 to 4 days and will be fenced in for safety purposes. The bike path will be repaved to both the City of Salem and contractor standards, which includes back filling and compacting the fill to prevent the new surface from sinking. A campus police detail will be present during this work, and the contractor will create an alternate route for bike path users while the trench is open.
  • The college has been in touch with Frank Taormina regarding the bike path work, and he has requested a plan in advance for the City Engineer’s review. The college will coordinate with Walsh Brothers Inc. to get this plan to the City Engineer as soon as it is available.
  • Councillors O’Keefe and Veno stressed the importance of quality in the repaving of the bike path. Mr. Lamoray assured the committee that the repaving will be satisfactory to all involved.
  • Concerns
  • Jack Hoar noted that a piece of the curb is broken on the college-side of Loring Avenue across from the Salem Diner. Andrew Soll noted that the college is aware of the damage and is planning to restore it when construction traffic has ended.
  • John Walsh noted that no college-related construction vehicles have driven down Broadway.
SUMMER PROJECTS
  • Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels on the existing Central Campus Residence Hall
  • The crane moved the PV panels to the roof of the existing residence hall on Central Campus today. The work was performed from the campus side of the residence hall, and the crane has already been removed from the site.
CENTRAL CAMPUS TRASH TRUCKS
  • The college received another complaint regarding early morning truck traffic on Central Campus on Wednesday, July 15 at 5:35 a.m.
  • Andrew Soll investigated and discovered that no trash or compactor pick ups were scheduled on that day on Central Campus, and the college’s daytime custodial staff does not report for duty until 6:30 a.m. He also checked with the Enterprise Center and learned that no truck activity had taken place near their site during that date and time.
  • The neighbor reported that there were no back up noises during this incident, which is unusual for authorized truck traffic that takes place on Central Campus. The college is wondering if someone is making unauthorized deposits into its trash receptacles on Central Campus because of the information provided by the neighbor and because this has occurred in other locations on campus.
  • The college will monitor the truck activity on Central Campus, and the neighbor has agreed to report any other incidents to Campus Police immediately so they may investigate as it happens.
BALL FIELD
  • The college and Councillor O’Keefe received several complaints from a neighbor on Lincoln Road regarding the summer use of the ball field. At the June SSCNAC meeting, Councillor O’Keefe requested that the college present its rental policy at the July meeting.
  • Tim Shea, the college’s athletic director, addressed the rental policy and the neighbor’s concerns with the committee.
  • Rental Policy
  • Once a contract is in place, the Athletics Department notifies External Affairs so that the dates can be posted on the community pages of the college’s Web site.
  • Information is disseminated to the renters regarding parking, and renters are required to come on campus for a walk through of the facilities prior to the rental date.
  • Parking Concerns from July
  • The renting organization is a league of several teams. The head of the program set up the rental and toured the facility with the athletics’ staff. There were no incidents during the June 21 game, the first weekend of this organizations’ rental. However, it appears that the renter had not adequately transmitted the parking information to the teams involved in the games played on July 11 and 12, the second weekend of the rental. Athletics re-emphasized the importance of parking on campus during ball field usage, and the organization assured the college that they would get this message to the teams involved in all future events on campus. There were no reported incidents during their last session on July 18 and 19.
  • Councillor O’Keefe requested that the City send someone to monitor the parking on July 18, and he is not aware of any tickets that were issued.
  • Mr. Shea noted that while walking his dog in the neighborhood, a woman asked him if it was legal to park on Monroe Road for the ball field. He responded that it is legal for up to 2 hours, but the college prefers that guests park on Central Campus.
  • Mr. Shea expressed concern that the neighbor who reported the complaint personally addressed this issue with the rental organization using the field instead of contacting Salem State public safety or the Salem Police Department.
  • Mr. Shea also noted that he has lived in the neighborhood for close to 30 years and has noticed no parking or traffic problems. At most he noted 6 cars in the neighborhood that could have been attributed to the ball field during the rental to this organization.
  • Mr. Shea added that prior to the ownership by Salem State, the field was used for Salem Little League for decades. Spectators and parents parked in the neighborhood on most nights and weekends, because there was no alternative for parking.
  • The Lincoln Road neighbor filed an additional complaint regarding parking during the field usage on July 16. This session was rented to Salem Little League, and most spectators were Salem residents.
  • Jason Silva noted that the college has gone above and beyond to direct people to park on Central Campus, and the neighbor’s concerns are a city issue. The city intends to enforce the parking restrictions more rigorously.
  • Councillor O’Keefe suggested that the City install signs beneath the 2-hour parking restriction signs that indicate that ball field parking is on Salem State’s Central Campus.
  • Mr. Shea added that two marble benches will be installed near the flag pole and will be dedicated to Paul A. Perry and Joseph J. Jackman. This has been approved by Doug Bollen.
MEIER DRIVE TRUCK TRAFFIC
  • The college received a report of an early delivery to Meier Hall last week.
  • Andrew Soll confirmed with Chartwells that no deliveries should be made before 7:00 a.m. During summer, major deliveries are made twice per week. Chartwells has instructed trucks to drive into Meier Drive and turn around on early morning deliveries during summer because there is much less pedestrian traffic. The college will continue to monitor early deliveries.
  • Councillor O’Keefe noted that he put an order in for the loading zone in front of Mainstage Theatre at the July 16 City Council meeting. It was voted in unanimously but will require a second pass at the September meeting. The loading zone would be in effect daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
  • Councillor O’Keefe relayed concern from White Dove Market regarding the “convenient store” mentioned in an article on the new residence hall in the Salem News.
  • Andrew Soll addressed this concern. The store will focus on items geared toward our residential students on Central Campus. It will be approximately 1,200 square feet, including a storage room and will be located as an annex to the dining facility. The store will have no exterior signage or parking, and the only entrance will be from inside the dining facility. Items available will include cereal, chips, soda, frozen pizza, milk, bread, bottled beverages, candy, gum, toilet paper, toothpaste, and items that are of necessity to resident students who do not have access to a car. The store will not sell alcohol, cigarettes or tobacco products, or lottery tickets. The college and Chartwells are working with the Board of Health on this project as part of the dining facilities. The hours for the store have not been determined and will be based on the student demand. It is likely to be open initially from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day during the school year and during summer conferences. Stan Cahill added that there is a similar store in operation on South Campus adjacent to the dining facility there.
  • John Walsh inquired about changes to the former Weir property. Mr. Soll responded that the college is planning to do extensive work inside the Stanley building during the fall.
MEETING SCHEDULE
There will be no August meeting. The next meeting of the SSCNAC will take place on Monday, September 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Enterprise Center Training Room B located on Central Campus at 121 Loring Avenue.